The duo mount Sentry and move toward the watchtower, they take a brief look up at it then dismount her and approach the ladder to the top, Franck mutters to himself.
'I hope you're up there Robert, we need you for this one.'
He then begins to climb up the wooden structure with Elsie trailing closely behind as they arrive up top, there they get a good view of the wooden cabin. The door wide open with drops of blood visible on the ground, giving off the feel of a horrific murder scene, they both walk in and take a good look around.
The walls are filled with old pages torn out from different editions of the book of silver thoughts, quotes in ancient dialect and a number of maps to different locations. Elsie then spots some images of different gods mentioned in the book particularly the old gods and one picture of new god ruler Asim, with an air of suspicion she asks Frank.
'When you said he developed 'ambitions which weren't in line with your purpose' you meant he went after the book? For bad reasons?'
'Correct, he became dangerously obsessed with the book. He believed himself to be above everyone else, his IQ unmatched and so too his scientific accomplishments. He saw himself as a god and he wanted to cement that by using the powers of the book.' Franck responds to Elsie's question.
'That sounds overly ambitious. What about the crazy bit??' Elsie then questions as she stops and stares at a spot with a knife on the table and a broken chair on the floor along side some rope.
Franck approaches and examines before responding with a slightly stifled tone;
'I was actually hoping you'd see that side for yourself, but it looks like he really is gone. We're on our own.'
He then looks to his left and spots a mattress with some bloodied clothes on it, he shakes his head in dissapointment and turns around.
'Come on, let's go we don't have much more time to waste.'
Elsie also dissapointed nods and follows.
'Not. So. Fast.' A voice emerges from out of nowhere, this scares the two and causes them to sharply turn around, they see a man emerging from under the mattress and the bloodied clothes.
'Is this the rest of you assholes? I thought there'd be more.'
A man bearing striking resamblance to the one they'd encountered at the bridge stands in front of them with a shotgun pointing at Elsie. 'Heh! You think taking the shape of a child will somewhat cloud my judgement? Hehehe in fact I might just enjoy this one a bit more than the others.'
The man then loads the gun and aims it, ready to pull the trigger on a dumbstruck Elsie.
'Robert!' Franck calls out.
The man looks down and spots the familiar face of Franck then points the gun at him. Franck in a calming tone tries to talk him down;
'Robert calm down it's me, this is an associate of mine,please put the gun down we need your help.'
'How? How'd you know my name demon?' replies a bemused Robert.
'I'm not a shipshifter, I'm a guardian, we used to work together don't you remember me?'
Robert goes quiet for a second, but then the thought registers in his mind and he begins to recognise Franck.
'Eldwin?! How can I forget?'
'Ughhh... Yes, yes i go by Franck now.'
Robert lowers his gun a bit and chuckles, now beginning to remember the history they share.
'Franck huh? Well you put me here remember that Franck!?'
Robert exclaims as he lifts the gun again;
'Years of torture to my soul, years in captivity. You placed me under the watch of that witch... She won't let me go anywhere, she won't let me do anything, I'm almost like her pet and it's all because of you.'
'Robert you left me no choice, you know I couldn't let you use the book especially not for a vision of that magnitude, the consequences would've been astronomical.'
'Repercussions of miniscule proportion, nothing which would bear any significance in the long run. I had a whole plan etched out... i intended to rule the cosmos as a benevolent deity! Just like Asim.'
'Asim was given his stripes by the book itself Robert, wake up he was meant to be a god he was given that honour by Zilar himself!'
'And I was given freewill! but you took that away from me. I thought we were partners but you took away my freewill Eldwin!'
*sighs* 'Look Robert we could go over this all day long but right now the world is in danger okay? I need your help. Please, I wouldn't come to you unless it was really bad you know that.'
Robert continues to aim the gun at Franck tightly clenching on it and wearing a tense look on his face. He stares Franck dead in the eye then he lowers his gun completely and eases up a bit, with a view to bargain he questions him.
'What's in it for me?'
'Redemption. If you come on this journey with us you get to prove your worth to the forest nymph, your dark intentions of the past will be cleared and you will no longer be her prisoner.'
'It's not her I wronged.' Robert replies boldy.
'Fine. If you help us, I will restore your freewill but I have to make it clear, if you go after the book even if I don't stop you someone else will, it's our sworn duty to do so, get that.'
Robert seemingly enticed by the offer chuckles a bit.
'Hm. I'll have to think about it Eldwin.'
'There is no time to think, we're already under attack you saw for yourself th-'
A huge boom from the mountains interrupts Franck, a sound similar to that of an explosion, Elsie anxiously questions. 'What was that?'
Robert responds 'Mother nature, and she's ready to give birth to her latest abomination, we have to go!' Robert grabs his bag, scampers forward and exits the door. Elsie and Franck both take a look through the window and see an ash cloud beginning to rise and pollute the sky, they shortly leave the cabin and climb down the watch tower.
They instantly mount Sentry and instruct her to gallop forward and onto the mountains, meanwhile Robert runs toward a different bush, he whistles and a black stallion appears which he immediately mounts and looks over to Elsie and Franck.
'You idiots! You're supposed to run from it not towards it.'
Franck shouts back, 'This is the only way Robert! you have to come up with us, the forest nymph told us this was the way and lent us her child to guide us through it, we have to go!'
'The forest nymph has no authority in the mountains at a time like this, the foreseers are coming you will be crushed instantly!'
'Well we have no other option.' Franck responds as Sentry begins to race forward and is engulfed by a cloud of smoke.
Robert stares at the cloud and ponders, he then shakes his head and instructs his horse to run opposite to the mountains, he heads straight for the mainland forest seemingly seeking an escape.
Elsie and Frank get to the top of the mountain and see a small temple. 'This must be the place the spirit was talking about! Our first clue is definitely here.' she excitedly shouts out as she dismounts and runs inside, Franck follows. The temple is a mess, containers on the ground and antiques destroyed 'they already raided the area, we won't find any clue here.' Franck speaks out in a stressed tone, Elsie then walks to the window and sees something walking towards them, mesmerised she calls to Franck and enquires.
'Uhmm, Cat? What if maybe the forest nymph meant that the clue will find us?'
Franck puzzled by these words, approaches Elsie and takes a look through the window.
'Oh Mon Dieu!' wide eyed and mouth slightly open he exclaims from pure disbelief. A huge man like structure made from rocks approaching, absolutely towering above everything near it with only the mountain peak being higher than it. Consisting of a combination of rocks including sedimentary rock, metamorphic rock and igneous rock, the only potential weak point being a patch on it's head made from soft rock decorated with grass.
Elsie is also stunned by the sight of the moving mountain, she looks to Franck and asks him.
'Is that the forseeir of the mountains?'
'Mother nature's latest abomination. Run!' screams Franck seeing the figure getting closer and closer to them, they both hurry to mount Sentry and instruct her to gallop away from the rocky beast, following a different trail on the mountains.
Meanwhile Robert arrives in the mainland forest and dismounts his horse, he gets on one knee and shouts out.
'Oh dear forest spirit! I know I am your prisoner and I have proven myself ill to you but today I am in urgent need of your assistance.'
Silence ensues before a breeze is felt through the air, the leaves on the trees shake a bit as a voice descends from above.
'YOUR TRICKS WILL NOT WORK ON ME PRISONER, THERE IS NO PASSAGE OPEN FOR YOU IN MY FOREST. RETURN TO YOUR CONFINEMENT FOR YOUR MEER PRESENCE HERE IS PROHIBITED.'
'This is not a trick nymph Sheyla, I come with clear intentions. One of your children is in grave danger and so is the entire mainland, I only seek to provide a helping hand.'
Again a moment of silence follows, then a ghostly figure begins to emerge from the shadows of the forest trees. A beautiful woman with long flowing hair, partly braided with the top woven and tied up, her body covered with leaves and vines but the parts which remain uncovered reveal sacred inscriptions on her body.
She approaches him and begins to glow biolumiscently, she stretches out her arms and cups her hands together forming a large ball of light. She then moulds it into a weapon, a long spere made purely of hard rock .
'YOU WILL HAVE TO CLIMB UP TO THE MOUNTAIN PEAK AND STRIKE DOWN ON HIS SOFT POINT, IT WON'T KILL HER BUT IT WILL CALM HER LONG ENOUGH FOR YOU TO MAKE YOUR ESCAPE.'
'Thank you great spirit.' Robert responds as he rises to his feet and accepts the weapon, he then mounts his horse and sets off.
Elsie and Frank continue to try and escape the large moving boulder of mixed rock pursuing them, it continuously hurls molten rock into the air which comes speeding down to the ground, prompting Sentry to take evasive action as she gallops forward.
They approach a large river dividing the mountains and another region covered in mist visible from the distance. 'There! we can lose it by crossing that river and into that land covered in mist, if we make it there we're untouchable! mainland creatures aren't allowed in that region.' Franck utters as he instructs Sentry to go faster, but she's halted in her tracks when the ground begins to shake and rise up causing her to fall over and drop both Elsie and Franck.
Slightly jaded from the fall they both get up and see themselves rising higher and higher, they notice the rock taking the shape of a hand as it lifts them higher up. The hand then stops, they turn around and see a huge face in front of them, another rock creature! But this one takes a good look at them first before speaking to them in a thick, rusty voice.
'YOU DARE TRESSPASS FORBIDDEN TERRITORY! YOU DARE STEAL FROM US! RETURN OUR ARTIFACTS AT ONCE AND YOUR LIVES MAY BE SPARED.'
'We didn't steal anything, we're looking for the people who did. We're only trying to help please let us go.' Elsie responds to the giant rock.
'THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE, RETURN WHAT BELONGS TO US OR YOU WILL BE CRUSHED!'
Franck then steps in 'Great foreseeir, we are not the ones who stole from you we come from the west seeking guidance here in the mainland, we only wish to protect the world from the oncoming danger please spare us! We will bring the wrong doers to justice.'
'LIARS!' The rock creature angrily shouts out as he begins to enclose his hand slowly ready to squash the alleged trespassers, but in the distance appears a horse galloping towards the mountain peak with a man on it.
'YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR SINS AGAINST THE MAINLAND! YOUR DEATHS A MEER COMPENSATION FOR THE ARTIFACTS YOU STOLE' The giant states to them as he continues to close his hand.
With a spear in his hands the man then jumps of the horse and on to the mountain peak right above the rock creature which is about to crush Elsie, Franck and Sentry.
He gets into position and leaps straight onto the head of the creature landing the spear right in the middle of its head, this instantly shuts it down stopping its almost fully enclosed hand from crushing the three travellers, this also shuts down the other creature made from a mixture of rock.
Both with their eyes closed and huddling Sentry with fear streaming through their bodies, Elsie and Franck notice the hand has stopped a few more inches and they would've been reduced to mince. They both breathe out sighs of relief and help each other out of the hand before noticing Robert standing on the head of the creature.
'Well, well, well. Look who came back' Shouts out a glad Franck.
'We don't have a lot of time, they're only asleep we have to go now before they wake up again!'
'No, wait! We have to find the clue first.' Elsie shouts to Robert as she runs up the arm of the Creature and begins to climbs up it's face. 'There's no time! unless you want to be smashed into human pancakes then I suggest we go now!'
'I found it!' Elsie shouts as she explores the hollow eyes of the rock creature. Out of curiosity Franck instantly approaches, he climbs into the eye and finds Elsie holding an unconscious human in her arms.
'It's a little girl, much younger than me how could she have ended up here?' Elsie enquires as she examines the girl. She then notices a small bruise on the girls head and a couple of rocks on the ground, she looks to the roof and sees a large hole caused by Robert's spear; 'Looks like she got hit in the head by one of these rocks.'
Franck still astonished by the sight continues to stare in silence he then pulls himself together and responds to Elsie.
'She must've been trapped inside, maybe the shapeshifters put her there.'
'Mhh... Wait.' Elsie suddenly has an idea click to her mind, she swiftly looks to Franck and poses a question.
'What if she's the foreseer?'